Employment

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that state and local governments added an estimated 21,000 jobs in May 2025, with local governments responsible for all of the increase. State and local employment has increased in all but two of the last 39 months and the aggregate level of state and local employment has exceeded its previous February 2020 peak by 637,000 jobs.

The BLS identifies approximately 20.6 million employees of state and local government as of May 2025. Local governments, which include most school districts, account for nearly three-quarters of total state and local employment, with state governments accounting for around one-quarter of the total. Overall, state and local employment accounts for approximately 13 percent of the nation's workforce.

The private sector added an estimated 140,000 jobs in May 2025.

The charts below present the relative changes in state and local government and private sector employment since 2007.

Monthly changes in state and local government
and private sector employment, 2007-2025

Monthly changes in state and local government employment, 2007-2025


Compiled by NASRA based on data provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Data is sourced from the BLS Current Employment Statistics program, which is a monthly survey of households, businesses, and governments measuring employment, hours, and earnings estimates. The CES survey reference period is the pay period that includes the 12th day of the month. Data are published on a preliminary basis and revised twice before being finalized. 

See more: https://www.bls.gov/ces/


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Becoming a member of NASRA offers a unique opportunity to join a community committed to the sound, efficient, and innovative stewardship of public retirement systems. Membership connects you with a network of professionals and experts, providing valuable insights into managing public retirement systems with a focus on sustainability and risk-averse strategies.

By joining NASRA, you gain the tools and resources to enhance the management of public retirement systems, ensuring their long-term success and reliability for generations to come.


 

What's New at NASRA: Public Pension Investment Return Assumption Brief Updated

NASRA’s latest update to standing issue briefs, Public Pension Plan Investment Return Assumptions underscores the critical role the investment return assumption plays in the financial health of public pension plans. Of all actuarial assumptions, it has the greatest impact on plan funding levels and cost. This brief traces how a decade of low interest rates and inflation, beginning in 2009, prompted many plans to reduce their long-term expected returns in line with more modest capital market projections. However, since inflation began rising in early 2021, the trend toward lowering return assumptions has largely paused. While reducing a plan’s assumed return can increase both costs and unfunded liabilities, setting this assumption is a careful, thorough process. It draws on expert input from actuaries and investment professionals and is guided by actuarial standards of practice.